Thomas Malthus is dead

“August Hunt,” an Estonian rock band, released this video of “Thomas Malthus On Surnud, Mu Arm.”

It’s a catchy anthem on a sobering topic, and it features bicycles!

Thomas Malthus was the British clergyman who published An Essay on the Principle of Population, in which human population would eventually exceed the carrying capacity of the planet. Malthus wrote this in response to the popular view of his time and culture, in which human achievement and population would increase infinitely. The song is a very direct message on the very high rate of resource consumption on our planet. Each achievement, every step of progress “requires a higher price.” According to August Hunt front man Norman Salumäe, it’s time for people to “take problems into their own hands.”

The song is in Estonian, but Salumäe says, “On the all I hope you’ll see the beauty in the language, video and music. And of course, by the end of the day we adore bicycles.”